7 New Job Categories Opened to Expat Women in Saudi Arabia

7 New Job Categories Opened to Expat Women in Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Labor is set to allow companies to hire expatriate women in seven business activities including health, education, dressmaking, childcare, in wedding halls and as cleaners. According to a draft plan prepared by the ministry, the hiring will take place following approval of the Human Resources Development Fund, which showed that there were no Saudi women available for these posts. The foreign women recruits would not be allowed to work as part-timers or remotely and their qualifications and experiences should match the requirements of the jobs. They should fall within prescribed age limits, with the exception of the health and education sectors, the plan said. Meanwhile, owners and operators of women’s accessory businesses called on the authorities to allow foreign women to work in lingerie shops and have them form part of required Saudization quotas like other sectors.

They said the Labor Ministry had placed impossible conditions on the sector because there were not many Saudi women available for these jobs. Many retail shops had closed down because of these conditions, they said. Investors called on the ministry to reconsider implementing the 100 percent feminization of lingerie shops in three years. They said it was impossible to have 100 percent Saudi staff at lingerie shops because women were not willing to work in these stores.